Take a look at the most shocking thing happening in the real estate market.
November 13 (King World News) – Gerald Celente: Americans who bought their first homes this year had a median household income of $97,000, up from $95,900 in 2023, according to a study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
First-time buyers’ average age was 38, the highest on record. At the beginning of this century, the average age was in the late 20s, the NAR said.
Also, a record 7 percent of buyers this year used an inheritance to help put together a down payment on their first home.
A quarter of first-time buyers used funds from a friend or relative to make their down payment, more than in 2022 and 2023 but below the pre-COVID average of 31 percent.
“We’re seeing a dichotomy in this real estate market where first-time homebuyers are not just your traditional first-time buyers, like schoolteachers or first responders,” NAR deputy chief economist Jessica Lautz told CNN. “The people who can get in are really a select few.”…
Listen to the greatest Egon von Greyerz audio interview ever
by CLICKING HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
High home prices and high interest rates have cut the proportion of first-time buyers to just 24 percent of purchases this year, the smallest since the NAR began to track the statistic in 1981.
Pre-COVID, around a third of sales were to first-time buyers.
Existing homeowners trading residences also have been older this year, with the median age rising to 61 from 58 in 2023. Their household income is higher as well, edging up to $114,300 compared to $111,700 12 months earlier, the NAR found.
Repeat buyers also often used equity from their previous home to fatten their down payment on the next one. Their average down payment was 23 percent of the purchase price, compared to just 9 percent for first-timers.
“The report shows both the struggle in America to secure homes to purchase, and then also people making housing trades with record levels of housing wealth,” Lautz noted.
Homes on the market for no more than four weeks typically received their full asking price. Twenty-three percent of buyers paid more than the asking price, according to NAR figures.
TRENDPOST:
The American housing market is becoming the province of the affluent.
Current prices and interest rates are locking out most young families who lack private means or rich relatives.
Also, even if more houses become available and interest rates decrease, history shows that when the average national home price rises, it never falls significantly. Home prices of just three years ago are unlikely to be seen again except in the event of an economic crash.
At the same time, inflation and record-high apartment rents have eaten away at households’ ability to save for a down payment on a home. High debt levels and consumers’ unbreakable habit of spending also minimize savings.
As a result, large portions of low- and middle-income households will remain frozen out of the housing market well beyond the time when interest rates will make mortgage payments more affordable for more people.
We are seeing the first generation of Americans denied the ability to own a home, build savings through equity, and claim that portion of the American Dream.
JUST RELEASED!
To listen to Rob Arnott discuss how investors around the world can prepare themselves for the turbulence in global markets that lies ahead CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
To listen to the jaw-dropping gold and silver price predictions that Nomi Prins just made CLICK HERE OR ON THE IMAGE BELOW.
© 2024 by King World News®. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. However, linking directly to the articles is permitted and encouraged.
